PUBLICATIONS

Stay InformedRegister with NCJRS to receive NCJRS's biweekly e-newsletter JUSTINFO and additional periodic emails from NCJRS and the NCJRS federal sponsors that highlight the latest research published or sponsored by the Office of Justice Programs.

NCJRS Abstract

The document referenced below is part of the NCJRS Virtual Library collection. To conduct further searches of the collection, visit the Virtual Library. See the Obtain Documents page for direction on how to access resources online, via mail, through interlibrary loans, or in a local library.

This study used observational methods in order to differentiate between healthy and dysfunctional adolescent romantic relationships.

Abstract:

A comparison of couples with and without psychopathology indicated that the couples in which one or both partners had a substance abuse disorder (SUD) were less warm and more hostile toward one another than couples with no psychopathology. Consistent with this finding, couples in the SUD group also engaged in higher rates of complex communications, mixing hostility and warmth. This does not mean that couples with no psychopathology resolved conflicts without hostility; however, the findings suggest that heightened levels of hostility may be a useful marker for identifying dysfunctional adolescent romantic relationships in which one or both partners have a substance use disorder or other types of psychopathology. No group differences were observed in assertiveness, control, submission, or autonomy-taking behavior, which suggests that level of interdependence or enmeshment may not be a good indicator of interpersonal dysfunction in adolescent couples. The discrepancy between self-appraisal and observed behavior noted among the sample of adolescents emphasizes the importance of using observational techniques, which may provide a more accurate and complete assessment of relationship quality. Two groups of adolescent couples were recruited to participate in the study. One was classified as a high-risk group (n=18 couples), in which one or both partners had a SUD. The other group was classified as low risk (n=12 couples), since neither partner had a history of psychopathology. Self-report and observational data on couples’ relationships were collected from both groups. Couples’ observed conflict interactions were coded, using the structural analysis of social behavior (Florsheim and Benjamin, 2001). 2 tables, 1 figure, and 62 references

*A link to the full-text document is provided whenever possible. For documents not available online, a link to the publisher's website is provided. Tell us how you use the NCJRS Library and Abstracts Database - send us your feedback.

Find in a Library

You have clicked
. A title search of
WorldCat, the world's largest library network, will start when you click
"Continue." Here you will be able to learn if libraries in your community have the document you need. The results will open in a new browser and your NCJRS session will remain
active for 30 minutes. Learn More.

You have selected:

This article appears in

In WorldCat, verify that the library you select has the specific journal volume and issue in which the article appears. Learn How.

You are about to access WorldCat, NCJRS takes no responsibility for and exercises no control over the WorldCat site.